'Sustainable development'; 'partnerships': what did these words mean to the thousands of people gathered at the UN World Summit on Sustainable Development from 26 August to 4 September 2002? What did these words mean to me? Although no commonly agreed upon definitions exist, people from all over the world, with different levels of power, influence and participation, had come together for this two-week period in order to implement the supposed Johannesburg Plan of Action, a comprehensive non-binding international agreement amongst governments to push towards ecological, economic and social sustainability. Some of the desired outcomes included setting targeted goals for addressing issues of water, climate, energy, health, sanitation, agriculture and biodiversity, as well as implementing new partnerships that will help to initiate a global and local sustainable development agenda.
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